Italian automaker Ferrari has started trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol RACE.
Buying a piece of Ferrari doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Now, private investors can get in the driver’s seat for about $55.
That was a closing price of a share of Ferrari stock on its first day of trading on Wall Street.
The Italian automaker started trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol RACE on Oct. 21. The $55-per-share price put the company’s value at $10.4 billion, small for a major automaker but huge given its limited production of super-luxury vehicles.
Prior to its initial public offering, the sports car maker had been a private company since its founding in 1929 as Scuderia Ferrari. The company initially manufactured race cars and sponsored drivers, but didn’t add vehicles for regular driving until 1947.
Fiat bought half ownership in Ferrari in 1969 and upped its stake to 90% in 1988. Last year, Fiat merged with Chrysler to become Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, the world’s seventh largest automaker. The IPO raised cash for Fiat Chrysler to reduce its debt and pursue plans to expand its Alfa Romeo and Maserati brands.
You Might Also Enjoy: Volkswagen Executive Resigns Over Vehicle Emissions Scandal
Only 10% of Ferrari’s overall shares were made available to the public. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles kept 80% to be distributed among shareholders. The remaining 10% was retained by Piero Ferrari, the only living son of Ferrari founder Enzo Ferrari.
It is unclear what the impact will be on Ferrari, whose higher-end models cost well over $200,000. The consulting firm IHS Automotive has speculated that Ferrari could boost production from between 7,000 and 8,000 vehicles a year to 9,000 by 2019, but it’s unknown if the automaker would start making lower-priced models again as it has in the past.
In an interview with CNBC on the opening day of trading, Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and chairman of Ferrari, said he would never threaten the Ferrari tradition by boosting production.
At the heart of the iconic brand is the close relationship between the automaker and its customers, he said. Every year, 60% of Ferrari’s buyers are repeat customers, proving that for those who can afford to buy a Ferrari, one in a lifetime isn’t enough.
